Karen Jonas - Butter (2018)

2018 release. As rich as it's name suggests, Butter mixes the textured twang of Karen Jonas's folk and country roots with the diverse influences of ragtime, blues, jazz and barroom soul. It's her broadest, boldest album to date, with songs that anchor themselves in southern storytelling and Jonas's smooth, unforced croon. Butter is a retro-minded album for the modern age - the sound of a songwriter celebrating her circumstances. "Butter is about my story now, as a working musician and mother - the challenges of each role and, especially, the challenge of balancing the two. It's about baking my cake and eating it, too." There's perhaps no better summary of the album's peppy punch than it's flagship song, "Butter," which kicks off with honking trumpets, swooning vocals, and slyly witty lyrics. The song tells the story of a hardworking mother who's a killer cook and a first-rate parent. She's sexy, ambitious, composed, and sipping straight whiskey just before 5 o'clock. For Karen - a full-time musician and full-time mother - the album is a personal anthem. Butter is Karen Jonas's finest combination of melody and message to date, stripped free of artificial ingredients and fillers. This is Butter - smooth one minute, decadent the next, and fulfilling throughout.